Garden City, Sands, Stanton continue playoff runs today

March 2, 2011

Garden City
The Garden City Bearkats simply havenâ€™t been tested yet in the boysâ€™ Class A Division II playoffs, but they might see a challenge today against No.10 Ira in the regional quarterfinal matchup.
Garden City and Ira â€” two schools familiar with each other â€” face off at 6 p.m. today at Post High School in Post. Garden City beat Hermleigh 72-36 in the bi-district round and Dell City 72-42 in the area round. Ira had a bye in the bi-district round, but beat Valentine 70-35 in the area round. The winner of this one faces the winner of the Baird-Lipan regional quarterfinal.

Sands
No. 8 Sands has already had its fair share of upsets this season, with the two wins over Grady it took to wrap up a district championship.
Now comes possibly the biggest test of the season: No. 3 Paducah. Sands head coach Billy Grumbles said the Dragons are athletic, have size and more importantly, are battled-tested. Paducahâ€™s faced some tough teams this season. The Mustangs will have their hands full, but players such as Bert Ybarra and Blake Thomasson are hoping to pull off the upset. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. today at Merkel High School in Merkel.

Stanton
Coming off a thrilling 49-47 win over No. 18 Bushland in the area round, the Stanton Buffaloes face Muleshoe at 6 p.m. today at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock.
Tyler Fulton, Trace Sidle and Grayson Gray have just been a few names leading the way for the Buffs. Muleshoe has had some impressive wins in the playoffs so far with a 69-35 win over Spearman in thew bi-district round and a 61-46 win over Colorado City, which is in Stantonâ€™s district. The winner of todayâ€™s game gets either No. 3 Wall or No. 10 Eastland.